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Anchoring the northwest corner at Yonge and Eglinton in Midtown Toronto, RioCan's Yonge Eglinton Centre has been a major provider of retail and office space for the area since opening in 1974. To renew the complex, a renovation and expansion effort is being led by Page + Steele / IBI Group Architects which will add 40,000 square feet of retail space to the 750,000 square-foot complex, a number made up mostly by office space in the two towers above the mall.
The centrepiece of the project is the addition of a three-storey glass cube currently being built over a large portion of the underutilized, windswept plaza on the northwest corner of Yonge and Eglinton. The new addition has reached its final height at the west end, but there is still much work left to do to expand, enclose and outfit the addition's steel skeleton.
In the image below, we can see that the longtime sign facing the Yonge-Eglinton intersection is being dismantled. The relatively dated signage is being taken down to open up the remaining public space, while new signage will include the latest in LED screens. CBS Outdoor Canada was recently revealed as the winner of a 10-year contract to operate signage inside and outside the centre, starting on August 1st.
While the addition is quite apparent from the street, within the walls of the existing building, work on the mall's revitalization is just as dramatic. Support columns in the mall's central space are now sheathed in LED-backlit panels which cycle through a spectrum of colours.
Modernizing the mall's dated interior spaces meant a complete overhaul of the lighting design, and the new rectilinear overhead lighting displays certainly do a lot in adding a modern aesthetic to the 40-year-old retail centre.
A major feature in the mall's revitalization is the addition of a new walkway connecting the north and south mezzanines, certain to greatly improve pedestrian flow through the mall. A new centrally located elevator will also improve the accessibility of these upper levels.
Other elements of the revitalization include the addition of multimedia displays, a water feature, new staircases and streamlined glass balconies.
We will return to update work on this centre as it progresses. In the meantime, for additional information as well as several renderings of the completed project, visit our Yonge Eglinton Centre dataBase file, linked below. Want to get involved in the discussion? Check out the associated Forum thread, or voice your opinion in the comments section provided at the bottom of this page.
